Aurora went and sat next to her mother on the bed. The queen was able to pull herself up better now, but her muscles had lain unused for so long that she tired quickly and was far weaker than either of them remembered her ever being.

When her mother was done with the adjustments, she sat back with a deep inhale and said, “There. You are like an entirely different person.”

Her mother stared, lips pursed upward in a sad smile, and the words landed heavily on Aurora’s heart. The queen sniffed delicately, and Rora quickly caught one of her hands.

“I am still your daughter.”

“Oh, I know that, my dear. It is simply that seeing you now, hearing the stories you have told, watching the way your face lights up like it never used to … I am ashamed I did not realize how much I had let my fear stifle you.” Her mother sniffed again, but it did not stop the tear that stole down her cheek. “I thought I was keeping you safe from harm, but in truth I kept you from becoming this amazing daughter the goddess meant for me to have.”

“You believe in the goddess?”

Her mother shrugged. “I believe you are as that young man said … remarkable. Whether that happened by goddess-divined fate or luck or something else … I believe in you. That is where I will start.”

Aurora did not think a language existed to express how she felt in that moment. She knew her mother loved her, certainly. And despite the guilt and her other fears, rationally, she knew too that her mother had always tried to do what was best for her. But there was such an innate power imbalance between parent and child, between creator and creation, that she feared she would forever be inadequate, that she would always be choosing between her own wants and her mother’s wants, and that would likely mean always disappointing either herself or her mother.

But now … now she felt less like someone else’s creation, and more like her own. She had never felt so free, albeit terrified.

“Thank you,” she responded, even though the words hardly sufficed.

“Promise me you will be careful,” the queen said, a little bit of command creeping into her voice.

“I will be.”

“And do not be too long. I get bored up here alone.”

“I will send someone to keep you company.”

“The handsome young man who called you remarkable?”

Aurora blushed. “Someone. Perhaps my friend Duke, if he is around. I told you about him.”

“Ah, yes, the wise old hunter. I should thank him for taking care of you.”

“You should talk to him about magic. He is very knowledgeable.”

“Perhaps I will.”